The Abyssinian Wolf, Watcher of the Ethiopian Highlands

The

The Abyssinian Wolf, Watcher of the Ethiopian Highlands

 

Alone on the highlands of Abyssinia, the Ethiopian wolf scans the horizon. This slender predator, perfectly adapted to life at high altitude, is now one of the most endangered mammals on the African continent. Threatened by habitat fragmentation and diseases transmitted by domestic dogs, only about 500 individuals remain in the wild.

Male Mountain Nyala (Tragelaphus buxtoni) – Bale Mountains, Ethiopia

Male

Male Mountain Nyala (Tragelaphus buxtoni) – Bale Mountains, Ethiopia

 

Shy and elusive, the mountain nyala lives only on the Ethiopian highlands, among misty heather forests, alpine meadows, and shadowy clearings. Fewer than 4,000 individuals remain in the wild, most of them confined to the Bale Mountains — the species’ last stronghold.

Males are especially striking: larger and darker than females, they bear long, spiraled horns and a dark crest along their back that stands erect during tension or display. These features make them elegant, ghost-like figures of the high-altitude forests — rare, silent, and hard to glimpse.

Pack of Abyssinian Wolves on Patrol in the Bale Mountains (Canis simensis), Ethiopia


Pack

Pack of Abyssinian Wolves on Patrol in the Bale Mountains (Canis simensis), Ethiopia

Click to see the complete picture in a virtual tour

 

Abyssinian wolves feed almost exclusively on rodents. Their habitat is limited to the high plateaus and mountains of Ethiopia, where rodent density is particularly high. In the Bale Mountains, where this photo was taken, up to 6,000 rodents can be found per square kilometer.

This diet has shaped their behavior: unlike other wolf species that hunt large prey in packs, Abyssinian wolves hunt alone.
Yet each morning, before spreading out to search for food, clan members carry out a joint patrol across their territory.

On this particular day, six wolves from the Meguiti clan were roaming their land, ensuring no intruders had trespassed.

Yemrehana Krestos Church, Amhara area, Ethiopia

Yemrehana Krestos Church, Amhara area, Ethiopia

The Yemrehanna Krestos Church is an Ethipian Orthodox Church built inside a cave.
Located at the bottom of Abouna Yossef, a 4190m above sea level mountain.
The church naming is because of the king Yemrehanna Krestos who achieve to built the church during the 12th century